According to numerous media outlets, the feds just released details confirming that cannabis consumption among teens in the US reached a 20-year low in 2016, while alcohol consumption rose

A new report, on behalf of the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), just flew in the face of the Feds’ own agenda. The report found that in 2016, there was a 20-year low in the amount of minors taking cannabis. The same report found that the trend started in 2014, and seems to coincide with the recreational legalization of cannabis in Colorado and Washington.

In a double whammy to the Feds, not only does cannabis use among teens appear to have fallen due to legislation and rapidly changing attitudes, but alcohol has risen, contradicting completely allegations made by anti-cannabis campaigners and legislators.

A spokesperson from the Marijuana Policy Project, Morgan Fox, said in a statement, “Critics of legalization worry about the message being sent to youth by marijuana policy reform efforts, but the real message is that marijuana should only be used by responsible adults, and it seems to be sinking in. Regulating marijuana for adults reinforces that message and creates effective mechanisms for making it more difficult for teens to obtain marijuana.”

Speaking about the figures, noting that cannabis use among teens is lower, while alcohol consumption is higher, Fox added, “Marijuana is objectively less harmful than alcohol, and regulation gives adults the legal option to choose the safer substance.”

However, this isn’t the only statistical report which notes a decrease in teen use of cannabis since legalization in the states began. Back in February, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment released data confirming that the rate of cannabis consumption among adolescents “has not changed since legalization either in terms of the number of people using or the frequency of use among users.”

As the dust settles and folks come to terms with the changing trends in public attitudes to cannabis, expect to see more reports which, while ironic to some, may be a step in the right direction.

Addam spends the lion's share of his day fixated on his computer screen. When he isn't in front of his computer, you'll most likely find him editing or researching his next fascinating article on his smartphone or tablet. When he manages to pull himself away from technology, you'll find him chilling hard somewhere, probably under a tree with an ice-cold Iced-tea, pondering life...